The Stranger
by RosePhyre
Summary: When Kagome has a date with a stranger. AU.MYSTERY PAIRING.R&R PLEASE!


_A/N: Yeah, an actual story this time. XD Anyway, enjoy. I'm trying my hand at a bit of humour, so bear with me. Please review!_

_STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY!_

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THE STRANGER

Kagome couldn't believe her eyes. She pressed the refresh button five times before she realized that the email wasn't going to disappear off the screen. She couldn't tell whether it was a joke or a dream come true. Either way, she was so dead. Those three sentences spelled her doom.

_I'm coming to visit you tomorrow. Meet me at the aquarium entrance at four. Wear a red dress. _

It wasn't signed, but she knew who it was from. What a long and complicated story this was going to be. Kagome had been walking in the park last spring when she had come upon an injured cat. She had taken it home and named it Buyo. Unfortunately, Buyo had a collar, so she spent a few weeks tracking down the original owner. In the end, she had found the house, but was too intimidated to approach. She had decided to leave Buyo in her cage on the front porch, leaving her email address in case something went wrong.

Weeks later, she had received an email from Buyo's original owner and this had been the start of a new friendship. The two strangers emailed each other back and forth, sharing their lives. Now, a year after their initial email, their anniversary, so to speak, the mystery man was coming to visit her. What was she going to do?

She didn't know her friend's name, and he didn't know hers. They had decided to keep everything private. He had said that he didn't care, and Kagome hadn't wanted to know. She had been secretly fantasizing about her mystery man, and didn't want those dreams wrecked. But now…she would actually get to meet him for the first time. And she was scared.

What if he was some kind of criminal who targeted young girls like herself? She knew all the basic stories about the psychos who would lure out their targets and kidnap them. She didn't want to go through with this at all. She started typing out her reply, but stopped. It was true that she hadn't wanted to know who exactly he was, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. What was he really like? Could someone as kind and eloquent as him be someone who she could be friends in real life?

Kagome's brain went into overdrive as it hatched a devious plan. Her cousin Kikyo was at the top of her class in the Tokyo Police Training Academy. She could pose as Kagome for this meeting! True, Kagome was no lightweight herself, but Kikyo was better suited to dealing with creepy old men. If all went well, then Kagome would have a new friend. If not, then one more psycho would be behind bars. After all, it was a win-win situation. Grinning, Kagome sent a quick acceptance, telling her mystery man to wear a red shirt and baseball cap.

x-x-x

Needless to say, Kikyo wasn't thrilled with her cousin's idea. The woman had to be smarter than this. What kind of naïve person would actually go meet with someone who they had met over the internet? The stupidity of this notion was giving her a headache. If she wasn't so worried about Kagome's safety, she would never have agreed to this plan. But, in any case, Kikyo couldn't help but see this as a challenge to her skills. Time to see if those judo classes were of any use.

Kikyo and Kagome got dressed quickly the next afternoon. Kikyo was wearing a red dress as expected, and Kagome dressed comfortably in a red sweater and jeans. To add more of a disguise, she added large black sunglasses and a blue scarf around her head. If she had paid more attention, she would have realized that her disguise made her look very creepy and suspicious. But what was the fun of an espionage mission without some gear? Kagome packed some binoculars, a camera and her cell phone.

x-x-x

Kikyo was getting more and more annoyed with her cousin. The dress was nice enough, but she was more worried about this man she was meeting. She waited at the entrance, standing demurely under the bright arches. Carefully scanning through the crowd, she immediately spotted a man walking towards her. He was a bit taller than she was, with gold eyes and silver hair. He was handsome, she supposed, in a rough way. His red shirt, leather jacket and red baseball cap identified him as her 'date' for today.

He swaggered over, looking her up and down with a frown. "So you're , yeah?" His voice was deep and rough.

Kikyo remembered the slip of paper Kagome had given her. Digging through her pockets, she read out the email address on it. "And then, you must be ?" She almost wanted to laugh at these email addresses, but stifled her amusement.

The man didn't look like much of a stalker, but you could never tell with these kinds of people. She thought he was a little different from the way Kagome had described her penpal, but it was to be expected. People's online personalities rarely matched with their real ones. Seeing Kagome hiding behind a trash can, Kikyo sighed. Giving the man a stiff nod, she led the way to the ticket counter.

x-x-x

Kagome felt a little put-out. The man was quite handsome and he seemed like someone she could make friends with very easily. She almost revealed her presence, but decided to err on the side of caution. What harm would it do if Kikyo wandered around with the guy a little more? She had never seen Kikyo on a date (though this was strictly a friends-only type of thing), and couldn't help but be curious. Pulling out her binoculars, she followed the pair as they entered the park.

As Kagome was putting her change into her purse, she happened to bump into the person standing in front of her. He was a lot taller than she was, with straight black hair in a high ponytail. He was wearing oversized sunglasses, just like she was. He frowned at her and helped her to pick up the fallen change. Shoving the coins in her hand, he left, ignoring her apology and thanks.

Kagome really felt like an idiot now. Even though she was supposed to be watching Kikyo and company, she was getting distracted and bumping into things. She ran after the couple, not realizing that the black haired man was also next to her.

x-x-x

Kikyo was a bit tired of all these animals. Honestly, she didn't really like the water and the fishy smell gave her a headache. Her partner didn't seem to be faring much better; he was complaining about the smell and holding his sleeve over his nose. It was a cute pose, but this was not the time. Kikyo had been observing the man for three hours now, and he didn't seem like a bad guy at all. Sure, he was bit ruder and rowdier than what she had expected, but she didn't mind too much. But, she couldn't see how Kagome had put up with this sort of thing. The Kagome she knew would have sent out angry emails and refused to talk to this man ever again.

Instead, Kagome had gone on and on about how her man was a perfect gentleman, and how polite and grammatically correct he was. This really didn't seem like the man who Kagome had described. For one, he said 'ain't', one of Kagome biggest pet peeves. Honestly. Only Kagome was so contradictory. Kikyo shivered as the dolphins sprayed some more water in the air. Her partner immediately took of his jacket and threw it in her lap.

"I'm hungry. Let's go out to eat." Her date had risen and was looking around for a restaurant. Kikyo nodded eagerly and followed him outside; making sure that Kagome was still following them.

x-x-x

Speaking of which, Kagome was exhausted. Normally, she would have enjoyed the aquarium very much, but Kikyo and her date just sat around and watched all the performances. If she had been free to do so, Kagome would have volunteered to feed the dolphins herself. Getting splashed was the most fun part of the aquarium!

Kagome realized that the duo was leaving and hastened after them. She noticed the black haired man from before standing by the entrance. He was making notes in a notebook, seemingly unaware of the world. Kagome was a bit curious as to what he was writing. Was he some kind of reporter or researcher? Shrugging in defeat, she passed the interesting man on her way out of the park. She didn't notice him put away his notebook in his backpack and start tailing her.

x-x-x

Kagome sat down at the last empty table, which just happened to be behind Kikyo and the man. It was perfect. She could make eye contact with Kikyo, but the 'date' would have to turn around to see her. Rechecking her sunglasses and scarf, Kagome bit into her burger with gusto, leaning forward to catch some of the conversation.

She was very confused. This man didn't seem like her mystery man at all. For one, he said 'ain't'. Who said that anyway? Weren't they all educated in the second grade to say 'isn't' or 'aren't'? Was this how her perfect-grammar prince was really like? Feeling disappointed, she waited for him to show his chivalry. Instead, she was shocked when the man grabbed his soft drink and started slurping away. Kikyo didn't seem perturbed in the least, but Kagome was aghast. Ok, so his table manners weren't the greatest. At least, he was an excellent conversationalist. He and Kagome had spent night after night discussing various literatures. As an English major, Kagome was proud of her varied tastes, and was glad to find someone who shared her passion. She waited as Kikyo casually brought up the conversation to books. Breath bated, she waited for his answer; his favourite author was Tolstoy.

Instead, the man had grinned and said that he preferred playing sports to reading. He was accomplished in karate, judo and kendo. He even played football and rugby in his spare time. By this time, all of Kagome's fantasies had vanished into thin air. It was time to end this farce. She stood and marched over to the couple's table. Pulling Kikyo outside, she looked back to see the young man following them, looking confused.

x-x-x

It was time for the truth. Kagome took a deep breath, removed her scarf and glasses, and said, "I'm sorry to have bothered you with this. Let me introduce myself. I'm Higurashi Kagome, 22 years old and an English major at Tokyo U. I am the one who has been exchanging emails with you for the past year. I'm sorry to have deceived you, but the person you have been with is Kikyo, my cousin."

Kagome had expected some shock, and maybe some anger, so nothing had prepared her for what was to come. The man laughed loudly, and ran a hand through his silver air. He called out into the street. "Sesshoumaru, man, you've gotta see this."

Kagome turned around for the surprise of her life. Standing beside her was the man she had bumped into at the beginning of the date. He just frowned and pulled of his long black hair, revealing long silver hair. The shades were the next to go. Deep amber eyes stared at her, and she knew the truth.

"I am Sesshoumaru Taisho. It seems that you are not the only one who has been deceiving the other. I am 24 years old, and a corporate worker. This is my younger half-brother, Inuyasha." His voice was low and smooth, just as she had hoped. Though she hadn't put much faith in her girlish fantasies, it seemed as if her dreamy prince really existed.

Kikyo and Inuyasha rolled their eyes at the paranoid couple. It seemed that Sesshoumaru hadn't been able to contain his curiosity about Kagome, but had been worried that she might've been a joke planned by his business partners. She could have been a gold-digger for all he knew. So he had sent his more expendable brother to meet his stranger.

He had been just as surprised as Kagome. For one, the girl was too quiet and serene. She didn't have much expression, and wasn't prone to outbursts of anger, unlike his beloved penpal. Kagome, on the other hand, seemed to fit the bill much better. She was already turning all sorts of interesting colours as she battled with her feelings. Sesshoumaru chuckled to himself and waited. It seemed as if things might work out after all.

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_A/N: Ok, the idea isn't mine. It's actually based off this manga/short story that I read a while back. I was experimenting with the Inuyasha cast because Kagome/Kikyo and Inuyasha/Sesshoumaru seem like they could be described with the same characteristics (ex. Golden eyes, silver hair, porcelain skin, long black hair, etc.) but their personalities are actually very different! _

_So, please review!_


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